Guillermo del Toro Producing DEADMAN Adaption

It’s no secret Guillermo del Toro has one of the fullest plates of anyone working in Hollywood at the moment. With two “Hobbit” flicks on the horizon, and a veritable cornucopia (oh yeah, cornucopia I went there) of rumored projects on his table that would make a horror geek’s all you can eat buffet, including a possible “Frankenstein” project, and, god willing, an adaption of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness”. But we can add yet another delicious dish to this weak food metaphor as del Toro is apparently set to produce a live action film version of DC Comic’s “Deadman”. Head toward the light and hit the jump for more.

Bloody Disgusting is reporting that del Toro will produce the film, with Nikolaj Arcel set to direct. “Deadman” tells the story of Boston Brand, a circus daredevil who returns from the dead a disembodied spirit, with the power to possess the living, in order to bring his murderer to justice. The character first appeared in DC’s “Strange Adventures” #205 in 1967. Created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino, but made famous by the legendary work of Neal Adams and Jack Miller, the character has since starred in his own comic series and was even featured in his own episode of the wonderful “Justice League Unlimited” animated series. Guillermo del Toro is right in his wheelhouse on this one, and as a self professed comic geek and a big fan of del Toro, this news has me extremely excited. “Deadman” is one of those comics characters that not many people know about, but could make an amazing flick if done right, and with del Toro’s guiding hand, I’m sure it will be.

This is another in a line of films with relatively new filmmakers having their visions guided and protected by powerful producers, such as Tim Burton with “9” and Peter Jackson with the excellent “District 9”. Arcel is a promising talent, having worked as a script consultant on Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” and having directed a small number of films including 2004’s “Kongekabale”, and his style coupled with del Toro’s should make this a memorable film, at least visually. At its best, this film could be the next “Crow”, a somber, stylish, bad ass flick that couples the supernatural and the everyday world seamlessly. At is worst? Well I’m not sure, but it couldn’t be any worse than Marvel’s “Man Thing” flick. More news on this as we get it.

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